How to Clean a Memory Foam Mattress – 5 Simple Ways

Last Updated on January 10, 2023

You spend a good portion of your life snuggled up to your mattress, so you should probably make sure it’s clean. Unfortunately, cleaning your mattress can be easier said than done, particularly if you have a mattress type more likely to soak up smells, moisture, and bacteria.

Although a memory foam mattress can be an excellent way to improve your sleep quality, by ensuring your bed contours to the unique shape of your body, it can also be difficult to keep clean. Memory foam mattresses soak up heat and sweat. Additionally, unlike most latex mattress toppers or dense foam mattresses, memory foam isn’t water-resistant either.

Exposing your memory foam to too much moisture, heat, or even just the wrong cleaning materials could damage the structure of the bed.

The good news? There are ways to clean your memory foam mattress without damaging your investment. We’re going to cover some top tips and things you can do here, along with a few insights on how to clean a memory foam mattress or mattress topper.

Why Clean a Memory Foam Mattress?

Cleaning any kind of mattress is one of the best things you can do for your bed. When you know how to clean your mattress, you can reduce your risk of having to replace your bed whenever your pet leaves a pesky stain on the foam.

Cleaning your memory foam mattress frequently can also support a better quality of sleep, by getting rid of dead skin cells, dust mites, and other allergens that make it harder to sleep well. The more you keep your memory foam mattress clean, the more you extend the life of your mattress and avoid any unwanted smells or odours in your bedroom.

Here’s how you can clean a memory foam mattress safely.

1. Remove Basic Debris with a Vacuum

You don’t necessarily need to use cleaning solutions and special mixtures every time you want to get rid of mattress discolourations. You can remove basic lint, hair, and dirt with a vacuum cleaner. A routine mattress cleaning process will banish any unwanted stray hair, dirt, lint, and debris that could be detracting from your sleep quality.

Routinely removing dirt and extra debris can also protect your bed from suffering from ground-in stains over time. Whenever you change your sheets, simply use a standing vacuum or hand-held vacuum to sweep over the sides and surface of your mattress and collect anything that might have gathered over time.

2. Clean Mattress Stains with Homemade Solution

If you’re having trouble keeping your mattress clean by simply vacuuming it, then you may need to create a mild fabric cleaner instead. Fill a spray bottle with around half a cup of fabric cleaner and one cup of water. You should avoid using bleach with mattress cleaning, or when cleaning a memory foam topper, as the substance can eat through the foam. Give your bottle and mixture a shake before spraying the substance onto the stain directly. Avoid applying more moisture to the mattress than you need to. Remember that memory foam is a lot like a giant sponge. It takes a long time to get completely dry if you cover the material with water.

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Scrub carefully at the mattress strains with a soft sponge or cloth. Avoid anything too abrasive that could damage your mattress or mattress topper. Once you’re done removing the stain, wipe the spot with a wet cloth to remove excess solution. Let the drying process continue for as long as possible before you put the sheets back onto the bed.

3. Spot Clean Stubborn Stains

For more stubborn mattress stains, start by identifying the cause of the mark. You should be able to remove light discolouration using the fabric cleaner strategy mentioned above. For more significant stains, you may need to consider a home-made solution with baking soda and vinegar.

Fill a spray bottle with a full cup of water and half a cup of white vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda on the spots throughout your bed that have the most significant stains. The baking soda mixed with the vinegar will help to lift out any deeper mattress strains that you couldn’t get with your mild cleaning solution. Use paper towels to remove excess moisture from the mattress as you clean.

You should only use very small amounts of your vinegar solution – even on a significant stain. The vinegar solution will easily absorb into the mattress, which can lead to mould and mildew, as well as persistent smells.

Once the spray is on the mattress, use a clean cloth or sponge to clean the area in small circular motions. Wipe the stained area again with a dry cloth or paper towel and allow it to dry. The amount of warm water and vinegar solution you need to use will depend on the depth of the stains. Remember to use liberal amounts of baking soda to absorb the warm water, stain, and any scents.

4. Use Hydrogen Peroxide for Tougher Stains

If your natural stain removal mixture doesn’t work, you can consider using this method instead. Hydrogen peroxide is good for deeper marks caused by bedwetting and urine from pets. To begin, remove your mattress cover from the bed if you’re using one, and soak up as much moisture as you can with a cloth or paper towels.

When you’re ready, mix a cup of around 3% of the solution with a few drops of washing liquid and 3 tablespoons of baking soda. Pour the mixture g into a bottle and use it for spot cleaning. Add a little more baking soda onto the stain after about an hour and let it sit for longer.

Allow the mattress to completely dry, then use the brush attachment or upholstery attachment on your handheld vacuum to hoover the area.

5. Dry Your Mattress Fast

The most important part of any cleaning processes for a foam mattress is getting the foam dry as quickly as possible. In some cases, you might be able to leave a bed to air dry in a warm room naturally. However, if you know that it’s not long until you need to put your sheets on again, you may prefer to use a small fan or hair dryer on a low heat setting.

Remember to avoid exposing your mattress to too much heat with a hairdryer, no matter what other tips might suggest. A lot of heat on foam mattresses can cause the memory foam to warp.

While you’re waiting for your mattress to dry, you can put anything else that needs to be cleaned from your bed into the washing machine, such as your sheets, mattress protector, and blankets. Replacing all your bedding when you’re cleaning your mattress is a great way to achieve that fresh feeling.

How Do You Get Stains Out of a Foam Mattress?

Our guide has offered a few handy tips for cleaning memory foam. However, there’s no one size fits all solution for how to clean a memory foam mattress.

The best way to get stains out of a memory foam mattress depends on the nature of the stain and your bed. If you’re using a memory foam mattress topper, you might be able to spot clean specific areas and then flip the topper to help get rid of anything unsightly. If you’re using full memory foam mattresses, the best bet will involve gentle cleaning with natural substances and minimal heat. Avoid exposing your memory foam to excessive amounts of moisture or chemicals that could harm the foam.

Most of the time, cleaning your memory foam mattress with a vacuum cleaner is a good practice, as this will help to remove any allergens and make sure your new mattress stays in great condition. If you’re allergic to things like dust and pollen, you might need to clean your mattresses more often.

Ideally, you should only expose a memory foam mattress to moisture and mild detergent when there’s a significant stain to deal with. Foam mattresses are more likely to hold onto moisture, even if you’re using something like a steam cleaner to reduce the amount of water you use. 30 minutes with a steam cleaner could harm your foam mattress by damaging the internal construction with heat -just like a blow dryer on a high setting.

Make sure any stain removal or cleaning products you use are suitable for use with your mattress first. You should be able to reach out to the manufacturer of your memory foam mattress for insights into the type of laundry detergent and other products you can use.

How Do You Keep Memory Foam Mattresses Clean?

Cleaning memory foam is tough, which means that prevention is often better than the cure. To keep your mattress free of dust mites and germs, make sure that you clean your sheets regularly, and vacuum your entire mattress when you can.

Protect your memory foam mattress from exposure to hydrogen peroxide solution cleaners and other substances by reducing your chances of annoying discolourations. Keeping pets and children outside of the bed can be a good idea for getting a good night’s sleep.

Remember to rotate your mattress regularly, according to the guide instructions provided by the memory foam mattress company. Also, if you ever do need to spot clean your memory foam mattress, double-check that things like dishwashing liquid aren’t going to cause any damage.

Conclusion

Now you know not only how to clean a memory foam mattress but ways in which to prevent stains from happening, there’s no reason your mattress shouldn’t be spotless. The more informed you are about the safest stain remover options, the better, so take note of our handy tips to keep your mattress feeling fresher for longer.